Beacon is short are the wireless transmitters working on low-energy Bluetooth technology. It emits signals to other devices such as Smartphones, tablets, iPhones, etc. that are in the near zone of the device. They are the most recent contribution to the location technology and proximity marketing.

Apple introduced its own devices known as iBeacons which basically perform the same purpose mentioned above. iBeacons are an affordable way of advertisement and real-time promotion for retail and other businesses.

These devices work with the help of iBeacon apps. There are apps available for all the major platforms such as iBeacon apps for Android and iOS.

To be more eloquent, let’s look at an example.

Imagine- You are wandering someplace for the first time and are looking for a food outlet. Suddenly, you get a push notification on your phone from KFC regarding the combos and discounts available at that time. You, then are navigated to the outlet and are given the information about the deals available for you. Wouldn’t it be helpful?

This is exactly how the iBeacon applications work.

Now, that this technology is enjoying increasing popularity among organizations and businesses, a rise in the availability of iBeacon apps is also witnessed. iBeacon app development is something that retail and other businesses are looking into. iBeacon apps are a great way to increase ROI by implementing this effective and real-time marketing technique.

Importance of iBeacon Technology for Businesses

1. Great for Tracking

iBeacons apps are an incredible utility to track your customers and employees. Via iBeacon apps, you can examine the various statistics in relation to your customers within the iBeacons’ range without doing any survey or such extra effort to make your services more efficient. These apps work as a personal assistant to the customer in the store by sending relevant push notifications regarding deals and discounts on particular products. As for employees, you can track their login and log out time.

2. Successful Automation

Automation, as the name suggests, is something done automatically, without the need for human supervision. iBeacons apps support automation to an extent that whenever the customer is at the store entrance, the doors will open automatically.

In fact, even when the customer reaches a certain checkpoint, the app will send a personal greetings notification including the name of the customer, eliminating the need for any hands-on employees to do the same. This is a perfect way for advertisements as it sends information regarding current discounts on the products.

3. A Cost-Effective Approach

iBeacon is a successor of NFC while being more cost-effective and effective in general. It is so, for the NFC’s range is only 0.20 meter, whereas, iBeacon has the potential of 50 meters. Meaning, that you get better performance at the lesser cost with iBeacon.

4. Micro Location

GPS being the first location-based technology is an excellent option to navigate anywhere, except closed spaces i.e., buildings. This is where iBeacons come into the picture. Their micro-location geofencing functionality servers the purpose of navigating in buildings and office premises.

Now, that we are familiar with the importance/benefits of iBeacon technology, let us move on to the discussion of mistakes that developers should refrain from making in the iBeacon app development. This is important to discuss, for all the efforts will be futile if the apps are less than perfect; after all iBeacon technology can only be optimized with iBeacon apps.

1. Shady Privacy Settings

Privacy is one of the major concerns in today’s time where customer data can be used for all the wrong purposes. Any new technology, including Beacons, seems suspicious and users tend to be more skeptical of it initially until they are sure that they trust their personal information with that particular technology.

The information collected by this technology about an individual can involve the location of the customer in the store, what they bought, and information like their name. For this reason, it is important for iBeacon developers to build an iBeacon app that addresses this concern.

The fact that 72% of consumers fear for their privacy and believe that brands are not behaving responsibly towards this issue is all the more reason to keep the iBeacon apps transparent, to avoid any future inconvenience.

Solution:

• The best thing you can do is to not ask for irrelevant information and permissions such as access to contacts and phone media and files.
• The facility of privacy settings must be incorporated into the app by every single iBeacon app development company.

2. Not educating customers on Value Proposition

Though the average number of sensors per Proximity Server Provider continues to grow unprecedentedly, there are still times when customers are not fully aware of this technology and keep a closed mind towards them. This stems from the lack of knowledge provided by the iBeacon apps about Value Proposition in the on-boarding process that is being offered and instead, focus on promoting their features.

In return, customers remain skeptical towards enabling their location-services and turning on their Bluetooth for Beacon devices to connect with them.

Solution:

While making iBeacon mobile apps, one of the most crucial things that any iBeacon app development company should focus on is explaining the benefits that users will get by using the app, instead of just boasting about its features. Also, try not to get into the technicality of how it works, for the users are least interested in knowing it initially.

Once, the users fully understand the benefits of using your Beacon app, they will surely stick to it.

3. Under-optimized Bluetooth OFF states

It is a given that users don’t always keep their Bluetooth On. Many beacon apps ask users to turn the Bluetooth on while they are on-boarding. However, they may sometimes fail to re-engage the users to do so after the initial visit, which is a topic of concern.

What the Beacon app developers fail to recognize is that these Bluetooth OFF states pose as a great medium to encourage users to use the app by showing what they are missing out.

Solution:

You can make your empty or OFF state attractive via gamification while explaining to users why they should turn the Bluetooth on.

4. Lack of knowledge about Beacon background modes

And last but not least of all mistakes, iBeacon app builders may not have proper knowledge of and understanding of beacon background modes. This is a prominent feature as it enables smartphones to scan for any nearby beacons, even when the user is not active on the iBeacon app for iOS and Android devices.

This might be a deal-breaker for users as the developers failed to recognize how users may react about this feature and how they will interact with the lock-screen notifications on various devices.

Solution:

There are two situations at hand that all iBeacon app developers have to consider. First is when the iBeacon apps are run in the foreground, they can calculate the distance to the nearby beacons instantly, and the second when the iBeacon apps for Android and iOS run in the background, they can only identify if any beacon is in the range or not.

Therefore, when building an iBeacon app, developers are required to thoroughly consider which of the modes will allow the app to effectively solve the problem.

Final Thoughts

If the iBeacon app development process is taken care of well, then there should be no issues related to the performance of the app and also its reception by the users. All developers need to do is refrain from making the mistakes discussed above.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Does iBeacon work with Android?

Yes, there are iBeacon apps available for Android. However, there is a slight twist. On iOS devices, an iBeacon can be detected even when the iBeacon app is not in use, but in Android, the iBeacon app needs to be in use or in the background to be detected.

Q. How do you build an iBeacon app?

The first thing you need to do is to gain information about the Beacon Technology. Having a better understanding of technology, its trends, and its market is a great way to start. Look for some existing products similar to yours to be clear about what type of app you want and have an idea of your app. After this, it is time to move forward to the next step. Now, you need to look for a company offering iBeacon App Development Services. Make sure the company you choose has worked on a project similar to yours so that your product is in experienced hands.

Q. Can iBeacon work without an app?

No. In order to use the functionalities of iBeacon, you need to have an iBeacon app.

The post Mistakes That iBeacon App Developers Should Never Make appeared first on Appinventiv.

By sitting silently on the corner of a wall, Beacons can effortlessly solve your issues from declining footfall in your store to hiring an additional resource to just show the students around.

So, what exactly is the technology that holds all the immense powers? And how does it work? And how can you use it irrespective of what industry you belong to?

We will answer all these questions and then some more.

Hold on to whatever device you are on and let’s begin…

But before that, let’s look at the technology’s market share

What is Beacon Technology?

In the most simplest sense, Beacon is the technology that alerts websites or apps when someone has entered or left the location they are placed in. In other terms, retail (one of the major users of Beacon) have beacons attached on their venue which detects where a customer is at any given point of time in or around their store.

Now that you know what the technology is, let us now see the different type of Beacon Protocols in the market.

Type of Beacons Protocols

1. iBeacon – by Apple

2. Eddystone – by Google

3. AltBeacon – by Radius Networks

4. GeoBeacon – by Techno-World

5. Nearby – by Google

How does Beacon Technology works?

Suppose you enter a mall and cross the Mac store. Now the instant you cross the store, you get a message on your phone informing you of a discount in the outlet. Seeing the discount, you enter the store and as you are moving from one window to another, you now start getting product specific discount notifications on your smartphone Beacon app.

The above scenario is the doing of Beacon technology.

Now’s let dive in a little in the exact functioning of the technology –

Technically, every hardware device which supports Bluetooth 4.0 can act as a beacon. Meaning PCs, smartphones, and tablets can work as beacons.

The beacon constantly scans for the mobile devices which have an open Bluetooth and are added with the associated mobile app. As soon as the beacon detects a device that fulfills the conditions, it sends them a connection request to make the app active.

Once done, it sends real time information to the users on their app.

So the functioning elements here are –

– Beacon Device in the store

– App that supports the Beacon technology

– Open Bluetooth

While Retail is one of the most advertised industry to be using the technology, there are other industries that have been making use of the Beacon technology to offer better services to their users.

Let us look at some of the industries’ usage of the location based technology.

Use cases of Beacon Technology

1. Retail

– Send offers and discounts to a customer when he/she is near a product or a certain shelf

– Admins could get relevant data about slow days and full days to optimize their workflow and service accordingly

– Offer stickers and collectable items that they can only receive if they visit certain parts of the store or attend certain events or sales

– Provide detailed maps of a mall with all the facilities and parking information with the voice navigation

– Users could get a higher discount if they invite and bring new customers and etc.

2. Healthcare

– Drug stores can promote free check-ups to bypassers

– Hospitals can offer detailed maps with elevators, guides, detect your current position

– Hospitals can offer a view map with all facilities as icons on the map and visitors will be able to search by department/facility title/specialist, create a route to a needed object/facility, navigate to object/facility

– Hospitals can offer a map so that visitors will find their cars on parking area

– Hospitals can promote any event taking place

3. Real Estate

– Notify prospective client when they drive by a house up on the market

– Give property information in open houses

– With beacons, real estate agents will gain insights in buyer’s offline property buying experience. They will know when their prospects viewed the house’s information and if it after leaving the open house

4. Education

– Guided campus tours to new students

– Beacons in bookstore can give information to students of the cost or discount on an book

– In library, students can see the waiting line without having to come near the counter

– Taking attendance becomes a thing of the past with the real time reading of students’ presence in the classroom

– By notifying the administration of the student’s location, student safety on the campus reaches an elevated level

5. Travel

– Expedite security check in airports and subways

– Room availability information upon crossing a chain of hotels

– Keyless entry in hotel rooms

– Notification on the events happening around a location

– Offers and discounts in restaurant and clubs

Beacons have found a place in a number of industries, globally. The advancement and benefits it offers, has created a great demand in the mobile app industry. But, for a technology that is so precise and real time, there are a number of challenges that app development agencies face while incorporating it in their apps.

Here are the challenges that we faced when we developed Beacon apps and how we solved them. Read this part as a miniature case study of two of the most well adopted Beacon apps of all times.

Our experience with Beacon Apps

We get request for Beacon app development frequently from customers who are looking to tap a greater market in real time and make the most of the connection between their online and offline store.

We recently made two apps – Glubbr and Parking Caddie, both working on proximity based technology.

The idea behind them –

Glubbr was a restaurant based app. The idea was that a device would be converted in a Beacon which the customers would be join to chat and get offers.

Parking Caddie was an app that gave people information on the open parking space in their area.

The challenges we faced and the solution we incorporated

With Glubbr, the challenge was to inform people of the app and educate them to use it. Here the challenge was completely on the marketing front. After a proper promotion plan, we were able to educate the restaurant customers of the technology and could convince them to use the app.

Parking Caddie came with its own set of issues with the most prominent one being floor mapping of all the parking spaces. To solve this, we integrated the app with the Estimote SDK. With the SDK, it became easier to not just map but also cover the fleet management part effortlessly.

While these were the challenges that we faced, usually educating people to use the app and keep their Bluetooth on when near a beacon is the most crucial part. Next comes floor mapping, while we had to work around an open space, it pose a challenge when using beacons in a mall or airport where there are multiple entry ways, stairs, escalators etc.

But the growing demand of the technology has brought with itself a set of solutions for the problem too. So, in the end it’s all workable, until you are avoiding the Beacon app development mistakes.

Beacons are changing how establishments interact with its customers as we talk. The technology is penetrating the world around us at a much faster rate. Are you up for it?

The post All There’s to Know About Beacon Technology for Mobile Apps appeared first on Appinventiv.

Are you still not aware of Beacons? Wish to know how this technology is transforming the retail sector? Here’s a brief detail shared by our expert app development team:

What Beacon technology exactly is?

It is an effective marketing tool to attract customers and provide them personalized shopping experience. Small, wireless devices called beacons are used in this innovative technology. These devices transmit a weak Bluetooth signal to other Bluetooth enabled devices in that area. As per our knowledge, customers get notifications on their mobile apps when they pass nearby. These notifications are basically related to sales and discount offers given by a store.

Beacons are safer than other technologies since it gives users control of the mobile apps that hold beacons. In other words, they are authenticated and with user permission, which can ultimately lead to tremendous experiences as a result.

How is it changing the Retail world?

The customer, these days, are glued to their phones for getting everything done, including shopping. They look for convenience along with good customer service. In such a scenario, Beacon technology is the need of the hour. It encourages users to embrace technology as well as drifts their approach from online shopping to traditional shopping. According to our app developers, beacons are prompting retail business in the following ways:

• When a customer enters in the range of beacons, they get a notification on their mobile phones. Through this, they can get to know about discounts and other specialties of the stores even before stepping in. Hence, retail brands can attract more customers in this manner.
• With this advanced technology, you can give exclusive in-store experience to all who enters your store. It can help in providing them offers related to the department they are in. This means you can give them more enhanced and convenient in-store experience. Not just this, beacons also help customers to get a product quickly and recommend them products based on their location.
• As per recognized beacon app development company in USA, beacons also enable the customer to know the availability of a product as well as offers associated with it.
• They allow businesses to study how the users navigate through the stores, how much time they spend at a particular corner and what they’re interested in. Using this data, brands can easily create an effective marketing strategy per person. They can send customized offers to the users and boost them for further shopping.
• With these customized offers, you can make the customer feel special and valued. And thus, can deepen the relationship and enhance loyalty.
• Not just this, beacons also simplify the checkout and customers’ waiting time. According to a survey, people can easily find the product they need using beacons. They need not rely on the salesperson for the same. Thus, fewer chances of turmoil in the retail store. Again as it supports mobile payment, a better experience can be given to mobile users.

Wrapping Up!

Beacon technology has revamped the retail business. It has come up as a helping hand to struggling physical stores and has integrated digital and physical shopping experience. It has added more value to the business and offered new ways to give build better customer relationships. To get your own beacon enabled app ready, contact us now!

The post Uplift Your Retail Business with Beacon Technology! appeared first on Appinventiv.

This is where iBeacon comes handy to navigate places in situation like these.

iBeacon was developed by Apple and was introduced in 2013 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Here are some of the features which iBeacon offers:

• iBeacon uses battery efficient proximity sensing. It ensures that it consumes less battery while turning on bluetooth.
• Since it uses proximity sensing technology, it is accurate indoors which is immune to issues relating to building penetration.
• The iBeacon track users when they come into the range of an iBeacon so they do not track users everywhere they go hence their privacy is preserved.
• It is affordable as even an iPad or any other device compatible with it can be configured and the technology is accessible.

However, developing iBeacon app is not that easy as it seems like and the developers encounter unexpected challenges.

Here are the following challenges which developers encounter while developing iBeacon app:

Frequency Issues

As all Beacons do not have the same frequency and do not transmit similar signals of same power, It presents a challenge before the developers to make the beacon transmit messages to the users when they step in the proximity, even if the signals are weak. The Beacon signal is affected by various factors such as weather conditions, device power and temperature. Which means users are getting delayed notifications due to low frequency levels.

The signal frequency can be solved by designing the app to make the choices depending of information received.

Tracking during Triangulation

This issue arises when three beacons are close to each other and the user comes in the vicinity of them. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the app to find in which range the user is in and hence the messages will be sent accordingly.

The best way to prevent this issue is to use a combination of Wi-Fi triangulation and bluetooth signals to accurately pinpoint a person’s location.

Navigating In the App Store

This is the final stage where navigating in the app store is a challenge. This is what you can do:

• Explain in the description how the app works for both public and private in review notes.
• A short video could be uploaded explaining the functions of the app.
• Lastly, put a disclaimer for battery use in your description.

Wrap up

For developers, building a specific iBeacon app is quite unique and different from developing other apps. To overcome these challenges we can use pre-built tools as well as client library extensions which will link iBeacons to their real world location, users to beacon and users to users. Using beacons requires you to manage permissions and user expectations, coding well against unpredictable hardware collections, and provide a means to link a beacon identifier with a useful element in the application.

The post Challenges and Tips While Dealing With iBeacon Development appeared first on Appinventiv.